Preparations for Internal Use

GLYCERITES

Glycerites are syrupy liquids that provide an alcohol-free alternative to the more popular tincture (see below), in which an herb's properties are extracted using alcohol. A glycerite is created using glycerin in place of alcohol. Glycerin has a sweet taste, but does not affect blood sugar like honey, sugar and other sweets. In fact, a well-known nineteenth-century American herbalist, Edward E. Shook, N.D., preferred glycerites for most of his medicines.

One friend of mine preferred giving her baby glycerites instead of alcohol-laden tinctures. After discovering that her baby—and many others—turned up her nose at anything that even hinted of alcohol or vinegar, she started a business making herbal glycerites designed just for children.

There are two types of glycerin: One type, derived from animal fat, is a by-product of soap making; the other is derived from vegetable oil. Although soap itself is not edible, glycerin is. It is even used in some foods, such as frosting and baked goods, to hold ingredients together and keep them moist. Animal fat glycerin is sold in pharmacies. Vegetable glycerin can be ordered through natural food stores. A synthetic glycerin derived from petroleum is becoming increasingly popular.

An average glycerite dose is about 30 drops, a quarter teaspoon or half a dropperful (based on the one-ounce droppers used for most commercially available tinctures). This dosage should be diluted in water, tea or juice, as it may irritate the mouth otherwise. Glycerites are not as potent as tinctures and are more expensive than teas. Like tinctures, however, they are easy to carry and to make preparations from—for instance, a glycerite can be used to make instant tea. They also make a great base for syrups and they have a long shelf life.

PILLS

Tablets and capsules release their herbal contents in the stomach as they dissolve. They provide an easy way to down herbs, as long as you do not mind swallowing pills. They are slower-acting and generally less potent than tinctures, but like glycerites, they do not contain alcohol. They certainly offer a faster and more convenient method of treatment than tea—which has to be prepared—and they allow you to avoid tasting unpalatable herbs. They are more expensive than tea because you pay for the convenience of having the herb powdered, processed, bottled and marketed. For most users, the convenience outweighs the expense. Compact and easiest to carry of any herbal preparation, they are very handy in a traveling herbal first-aid kit. When carefully stored in a cool place, they last at least a year. Since capsules are a popular way to take herbs, you will find a large selection available at natural food stores and some pharmacies. (Powdered liquid extracts, tinctures or freeze-dried herbs are sometimes put into capsules or tablets. Because they are so concentrated, they are usually mixed with a filler to give them more bulk.)

Capsules and tablets do have some disadvantages beyond cost. Many herbalists feel that the body better assimilates an herb that has been tasted. Bitters, for example, stimulate digestive juices when tasted. Indeed, what a surprise it must be when your stomach gets hit with a bitter herb such as goldenseal without any advance warning from the taste buds. Another potential problem is that the herbs used by some manufacturers may be of poor quality. Manufacturers get away with this because it can be difficult for the consumer to determine the quality of pills. One thing you can do as a responsible consumer is to examine the contents by opening a capsule or mashing a tablet with the back of a spoon. The herbs inside should still carry the color, fragrance and taste of the original plant.

If you want to fill your own capsules—either to save money or because you cannot find the herbal formula you want—you can buy empty capsules at natural food stores. I find this a tedious job, however. It involves powdering the herbs, scooping them into the capsule and packing them in with a chopstick or similar tool. You can speed the process along by using one of several types of capping machines sold through natural food stores.

The typical tablet or capsule is roughly comparable to half a cup of tea or one-sixth of an ounce of herb. Consult the product label for dosage.

SYRUPS

A syrup is a tincture, liquid extract, glycerite or sometimes a strong tea that is sweetened and thickened with sugar, honey, glycerin, molasses, rice syrup or fruit syrup. (Caution: Do not give honey to children under two years old, as it can hurt them; for more information on honey, see chapter 80.) Glycerin is often preferred since it will not ferment like honey. A syrup makes an ideal cough remedy because it coats and soothes the throat, but other remedies can also be taken as a syrup.

While syrups are tasty, easy to carry and long-lasting, the added sweeteners in them can pose a problem for people who have sugar "problems"—diabetes, hypoglycemia and the like. If you suffer from a disorder of this kind, avoid syrups. The other potential problem with syrups is that their herbal content is often low because of overdilution. The average dose of a syrup is one tablespoon.

TEA

Tea offers one of the simplest and least expensive ways to prepare herbs. In fact, a cup of tea usually costs only a few cents, and the typical dose is one teaspoon of herb per cup, one cup three or four times daily. Making tea can help you become familiar with the herbs as you feel, smell and taste them. Relaxing for a few minutes while you drink your medicine is a healthy way to remind yourself to slow down. Some remedies—for example, many fever-reducing teas and some diuretics—work only when taken as hot tea because the heat promotes sweating.

Tea has its advantages, but you may find you don't have time to make it every day. Of course, drinking tea sounds like a great idea until you brew up some foul-tasting herbs, then try to drink that a few times a day! Tea can also be a problem if it means having to lug a Thermos around with you. Refrigerated tea will keep for a couple of days.

There are several different methods of preparing tea.

Infusions are made by pouring hot water over herbs and steeping for five to ten minutes in a saucepan, teapot or cup. Flowers and leaves are the usual ingredients. Commercial herb teas that come in tea bags are cut extrafine to produce tea quickly, usually in five minutes. To retain heat-sensitive essential oils contained in the herbs, cover the pot or pan.

Decoctions are prepared by gently simmering the herbs in water for 15 to 30 minutes. The most common ingredients in decoctions are roots and bark. The Chinese prefer to simmer root and bark teas even longer. The high heat releases more properties from heavy barks and roots than steeping does. Keep the heat very low when simmering aromatic roots such as valerian, elecampane and angelica so that their essential oils aren't lost into the air. Some barks and roots can be brewed a second time.

Cold Infusions are made by soaking herbs in cold water for about eight hours. Because this method takes such a long time, it is generally reserved for delicate, fragrant herbs that lose their essential oils when heated.

Two modern versions of tea are increasingly finding their way to market. Flavor-enhanced tea has essential oils or flavorings, such as almond, mint, cinnamon or citrus, added to increase its flavor. Instant tea is made using herbs that have been quickly dried in a high-heat chamber. This removes their water but retains most of their properties and flavor, making the tea very concentrated. Instant tea is then added to a substance that dissolves easily, such as lactose or dextrin, to increase its bulk.

TINCTURES

Tinctures, also called herbal extracts, are a concentrated liquid form of herbal medicine. A tincture is easy to carry, easily assimilated and needs no refrigeration. It will keep for years, another important consideration for anyone with an on-the-go lifestyle. This concentrated form of herbs makes it easier to down strong-tasting herbs or take large doses. In fact, because a tincture is so concentrated, it is best to dilute it into an instant tea by adding it to water or juice; the average dose is about 30 drops, a quarter teaspoon or half a dropperful (based on the one-ounce droppers used for most commercially available tinctures). Certain tinctures are used externally, mostly as skin antiseptics. All tinctures take effect quite quickly.

The liquid medium of a tincture is alcohol. The alcohol draws important properties from the herb (or herbs), leaving behind the more inactive substances, such as starch or cellulose. It also extracts compounds that are not water-soluble. This means that a few herbs, such as goldenseal and black cohosh, and gums such as myrrh, are stronger when made into a tincture. Making a tincture requires no heat, so essential oils are retained.

One ounce of tincture contains about 600 drops or six teaspoons, which equals 20 to 24 doses per bottle. Price-wise, that's about 35 to 40 cents a dose. This means that tinctures are more costly than tea, but most people don't mind paying for the convenience. When using the herbs suggested in this book, it is not necessary to use the exact number of drops; estimating is fine. (Remember, we are talking about very safe herbs, not drugstore pharmaceuticals.)

A tincture is much easier to get down than a strong-tasting tea. I find tinctures handy for dispensing herbs to children and` animals, as well as to reluctant adults. For example, when my friend Don pulls out his tincture bottles, his nine-year-old daughter, Libby, holds her hand over her mouth saying, "Wait, wait! What is that?" If he says it is goldenseal or some other "yucky-tasting" herb, she replies, "Wait, I need more water!" But she readily takes the tincture, even though she will reject medicinal tea or pills.

If you have religious, health or other objections to using alcohol, tinctures may not be for you. Otherwise, do not be concerned; many doctors consider a small amount of alcohol healthy and an aid to digestion. A typical four doses a day totals less than half a teaspoon of alcohol. Studies show that most people can handle 6 to 12 times that amount, unless they have liver problems. If you prefer, you can even eliminate much of the alcohol by dropping a dose of tincture into a cup of boiling water. The alcohol evaporates, leaving the medicine behind. Do this with only one dose at a time, since the tincture will spoil without alcohol to preserve it.

Do not confuse herbal tinctures with homeopathic remedies or flower essences, which are used differently. Although all three products are preserved with alcohol and sold in the same type of dropper bottle, homeopathic remedies and flower essences are so dilute that there is often no detectable trace of the original herbs in them. Remember that these products are not interchangeable; each has different effects.

There are a number of variations on the tincture theme, and this often makes it very confusing for the consumer. To make matters worse, these terms are used loosely and sometimes interchangeably. These definitions should help.

Concentrated Liquid Extract. This is a tincture that has had most of its water and alcohol removed, making it a thick, semisolid liquid that can be blended into pills or reconstituted with glycerin or alcohol into a liquid preparation. This is one way to make alcohol-free tinctures.

Double Extraction. This is a double-strength tincture that is made by making a regular tincture, straining out the herbs, then combining that tincture with a fresh batch of herbs to make a second tincture. Because twice as much time and twice as much work are required to make a double extraction, only a few herb companies bother with this method.

Standardized or Guaranteed Extract. This product, usually a tincture or pill, is guaranteed to contain a specified quantity of the herb's main active compound. Laboratory tests are used to determine the amount of an active ingredient in an herb. If that quantity is lower than guaranteed on the label, that herb is rejected and one that meets this requirement is used in its place. In a few cases, such as with the herb ephedra, a purified amount of the active ingredient is added to increase potency to the stated level. To achieve this, certain important compounds are isolated and others are often discarded. Some herbalists refuse to use herbs that have been altered in this way, but many laboratory scientists prefer them for their consistent strength.

USP Standardized. Until tinctures began to be replaced by synthetic drugs following World War I, they were commonly sold in pharmacies and were made according to proportions set down in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (USP), the pharmacist's guidebook. Today, few herbal companies can afford pharmaceutical licenses, and herbs in general cannot legally be advertised or sold as specific medicines. Because manufacturing methods and herb qualities vary, products are often of different strengths, even when they come from the same company. These traditional USP standards are still used by some companies.

VINEGARS

Herbal vinegars are prepared like tinctures, but the herbs are infused into vinegar instead of into alcohol. Though vinegar does not draw out an herb's properties as well as alcohol, herbal vinegars offer the convenience of a tincture without the alcohol. Because most herbal vinegars are designed for culinary use, they are not medicinal strength. Also, the selection is limited. An herbal vinegar is easy to take, provided you like the taste of vinegar, and it can be used surreptitiously in a meal as salad dressing or in any recipe calling for vinegar; the typical dose is one to two teaspoons. Herbal vinegar also makes a fine sore throat gargle. In addition, it can be used externally as a hair rinse, as a skin wash for fungal infections and in douches. Caution: Vinegar eats away at tooth enamel, so be sure to rinse your mouth thoroughly after drinking it.